Jamahal Hill always knew he would be able to bring a different level of boxing to the UFC.
Chicago-born Hill has been competing in the UFC since 2019 after scoring a knockout in his appearance on Dana White‘s Contender Series. Since joining the promotion, he has been setting the light heavyweight division ablaze, scoring knockouts in all but one of his five UFC wins, as well as his single bout that was overturned to a no-contest after he tested positive for marijuana.
Jamahal Hill Says May/Mac Exposed MMA Striking
It is hard to deny that Jamahal Hill has brought with him some impressive striking to the UFC, only suffering a single setbackin his tenure so far. As it turns out, he came into the sport with a pretty good sense of how well he would be able to do in the standup department.
Speaking on a recent episode of Food Truck Diaries, Hill explained that he was able to tell by watching the infamous boxing match between then-UFC champ-champ Conor McGregor, and the legendary undefeated boxing champ Floyd Mayweather, that MMA striking was not up to par with boxing. So he put his focus on improving that part of his skill set with the hopes that he would be able to capitalize on what he saw as an opening in the sport.
“The thing with [striking] is, I realized the deficiency. I realized the deficiency in the sport, and honestly a lot of it was amplified to me when Conor fought Floyd. You could see, he was right at the top… but when it came down to punching… I seen it first in the Diaz fight, the boxing, the endurance that it took to be a boxer, and I saw how it translated over into boxing. So I was like ‘Alright, how can I take this deficiency and make it work for me in MMA?” Hill said.
While it is not surprising to hear that MayMac served as inspiration for future generations of fighters, it is interesting to hear what Jamahal Hill was able to take from watching one of the biggest fights in combat sports history. Time will ultimately tell just how far his striking will take him, but so far so good for the 31-year-old prospect.
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